


Florence

by Roshwen



Series: Field trips [1]
Category: The Librarians (TV 2014)
Genre: Fluff, How to make Jacob Stone happy: a guide, Humor, Kissing, Making Out, Multi, The LITs go city tripping, Why have a magical door if you're not going to use it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-29
Updated: 2017-10-29
Packaged: 2019-01-26 02:58:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,012
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12547304
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Roshwen/pseuds/Roshwen
Summary: Jake has now caught Jones and Cassie twice, both looking very seriously at something on Jones’ laptop, heads bent together and talking in low whispers, only to sit up straight and act like complete innocents when Jake walks into the room. They are obviously planning something, and it's driving Jake up the wall because neither of them is particularly subtle.When he finds out what they did, though, all past and future crimes are immediately forgiven.





	Florence

**Author's Note:**

> So, this takes place after my [Christmas series](https://archiveofourown.org/series/830346), so you might want to read that first. Or not, because this also works as a standalone if you keep the summary in mind: Jake, Cassie and Ezekiel got together at Christmas Eve, after which Jake had to go and spend the rest of Christmas with his family in Oklahoma while Ezekiel and Cassandra spent the rest of the week together and presumably had lots of fun. That's basically it.
> 
> For constructive criticism and incoherent yelling, [my tumblr](https://hedgehog-o-brien.tumblr.com) is always open!

Cassie and Jones are planning something.

Jake has noticed them acting a bit different ever since they came back to work after New Year’s, and it has nothing to do with the three of them finally, _fucking finally_ getting their act together on Christmas Eve. Things are also different because of that, but those things have more to do with stolen kisses in darkened Library corners, casual touches when bringing them tea or coffee and, most importantly, going home together at the end of the day. Jenkins has noticed, of course. Baird hasn’t yet, or at least pretends she hasn’t and no one is actually willing to broach the subject with her, and Flynn.. well, he’s Flynn. He’ll catch up with them soon enough.

So those things are different, and they are good. What’s different and making Jake nervous, is the way he has now caught Jones and Cassie twice, both looking very seriously at something on Jones’ laptop, heads bent together and talking in low whispers, only to sit up straight and act like complete innocents when Jake walks into the room. They are planning something and since neither of them is particularly subtle, it’s only a matter of time before Jake loses his patience.

He corners Ezekiel in the hallway, just as he is about to walk into the Annex proper. ‘You wanna tell me what’s going on, Jones?’ he growls, crowding the guy perhaps a little more than he meant to but damn it, Ezekiel smells _good_ and anyway, Jake’s allowed to come this close now.

‘Personal space, cowboy,’ Ezekiel laughs, absolutely not impressed by Jake’s attempt at a scowl. One downside of this new relationship: Jake’s scowling does not work the way it used to. Instead of being properly petrified, Ezekiel presses a lighting-quick kiss to Jake’s lips and then slips away to the side and into the Annex without another word.

So that didn’t help.

The next logical step is trying to wriggle more information out of Cassandra, who is absolutely terrible at keeping secrets so Jake doesn’t know why he didn’t try that first. Thing is, Cassandra apparently knows this as well, or else Ezekiel has warned her Jake might be coming after her, because all of a sudden it’s impossible to catch her somewhere alone. She’s either working with Jenkins in the lab, studying in the Annex with Ezekiel (and isn’t that just weird) or having tea in the kitchen with Eve. Whenever she catches Jake staring at her, she flashes him a sort of half-apologetic smile which does nothing for the frustration that’s building inside him.

Jake is not very good at being kept in the dark.

This drags on for a month. Thirty-one days of hushed conversations that suddenly stop, long looks full of not-so-well hidden amusement and promise and Jake seriously considering trying to steal Ezekiel’s laptop to see what the fuck is going on. Yes, he’s that desperate.

After thirty-one days of torture, though, Cassandra comes up to him when he’s in the Library, staring at a book about the fact and fiction about Robin Hood but not taking any of it in. She’s alone and she walks towards him with a smile that makes Jake lose any interest he might have had in green-clad anarchists who are good with a bow. He slams the book shut and gets up, meets her halfway and cups her face in both hands before he catches her mouth in a long, deep kiss. Cassandra’s arms wrap around his waist and she pulls him closer, humming happily against his mouth and Jake loses himself in the smell and taste of her for a moment before he remembers he’s supposed to be a little angry with her. He breaks away and tries to glare at her, but all his anger melts at the joyful spark dancing in Cassandra’s eyes.

Jake feels a smile tugging at his own lips in response, so he hides it by pressing a kiss at the corner of her jaw and murmuring into her ear: ‘Are you finally gonna put me out of my misery, darlin’?’

Cassandra shivers in response, the way she (and Ezekiel too, although he still denies it with a vehemence that fools no one) always does when he ‘goes all low and Southern on them’ as they call it. Jake is still trying to find out how far his voice will get them, and he’s already had some pretty promising results. However, now is not the time for further research so he lets her go and takes a step back, leaning against the table and trying again to fix her with his best glare. ‘Well?’

‘Almost,’ Cassandra says, which is already a lot more than Jake has gotten in the past month. She looks at him, eyes big and bright and he can see she’s just dying to tell him everything, can see the big secret almost bursting out. ‘I’m still not allowed to tell you everything, but you have to be here Sunday morning at 5am. Pack a bag with clothes and everything you need for one week and you also have to bring a suit. Oh, and does Dr. Oliver Thompson have an ID? Then you should bring that too.’

There are a million questions tumbling through Jake’s head, but he settles for the most practical one. ‘Shirts or sweaters, Cassie?’

‘Sweaters,’ she says before she flashes him another smile and bounces out of the Library.

‘Wear something nice,’ is all Ezekiel has to say when Jake asks him why the fuck he has to be at the Annex at 5 in the morning on a Sunday. ‘Oh, and Cassie didn’t say if Dr. Thompson has an ID or not?’

‘He has,’ Jake says and he silently resigns himself to waiting another two days. That doesn’t mean he is not going to grab Ezekiel and drag him of to one of the Library’s empty rooms, though. If Ezekiel won’t tell him anything, Jake knows some other things the guy can do with his mouth instead. Luckily, Ezekiel is only too happy to oblige.

Two days later, Jake walks into the Annex, bag in hand and barely awake. Ezekiel and Cassandra are already waiting for him, both wearing matching grins and practically vibrating with excitement. Jake puts his bag down and drags a hand over his face, then looks at them in weary apprehension. ‘So. Tell me.’

‘Good morning to you too, mate,’ Ezekiel says as he steps closer to wrap an arm around Jake’s waist and presses a kiss to his cheek. Cassandra comes up to Jake’s other side and kisses his cheek as well. ‘Hey,’ she says.

‘Hey,’ he mutters back, kissing her forehead and Ezekiel’s temple. ‘Good morning.’

‘So,’ Ezekiel starts. He lets go of Jake and turns to the globe next to the Back Door, pushing in coordinates. ‘Do you remember how, after Christmas Eve, me and Cass went to my place together and you had to stay with your family for the traditional Cowboy Christmas Party Week?’

Like hell Jake remembered that. A happy time, it had not been. Being stuck on his own in Oklahoma while he knew that Ezekiel and Cassandra were spending the rest of Christmas together had made the Stone family Christmas not exactly the joyous occasion it usually was.

‘Thought so,’ Ezekiel says. The Back Door begins to glow and Ezekiel steps back, motioning for Jake to join him. Cassandra produces two suitcases from behind her desk, hands one to Ezekiel and tells Jake: ‘So we wanted to make it up to you. And we know you’ve never really been anywhere outside of work, even though you wanted to, so...’

At this, Ezekiel swings the Back Door open to reveal wintery sunlight ina quiet and narrow street. ‘We’re taking you on a trip. Come on!’

The street is so narrow that Jake almost hits the opposite wall as he stumbles through the Door. Before he has a chance to get his bearings however, or to look around for clues as to where the fuck he is, Ezekiel and Cassandra drag him away, down the street until they’re halfway down a bridge over a river where they finally stop and let him have a look around.

The temperature, time of day and buildings all say Europe. The number plates on the cars, theshops and street signs say Italy. But it’s not Rome, because Rome is a lot busier and anyway, they’ve already been to Rome. It’s also not Venice, because this city has actual streets and there’s no gondolas anywhere. It’s not Milan, because Milan does not have a river like this. Before Jake can think of any other Italian cities, Cassandra gently tugs at his shoulder and Ezekiel says: ‘Look to the right.’

Jake does. To his right, there’s another bridge spanning the river, but it’s a bit odd. It’s lined with buildings and it looks like there’s a roof on top of it. Buildings, then a bit of yellow wall and a roof, glinting red in the sun and three arcs in the middle of the bridge, so he can see the crowd of people moving through.

His bag drops to the ground with a _thunk._

He knows where they are.

‘I was hoping you could see the Duomo from here,’ Ezekiel says somewhere behind him as Jake feels Cassandra’s hand slide into his, ‘but I guess the Ponte Vecchio works too.’

‘Welcome to Florence, Jake,’ Cassandra says, but all Jake can do is stand there, rooted to the spot and staring at the bridge before him.

Florence.

They’re in Florence.

Birthplace of the Italian Renaissance.

Home of Michelangelo, Dante, Da Vinci, Botticelli, Donatello, Giotto, Brunelleschi, the de’Medici family, all those hotheads who together created (or funded) some of the most beautiful things known to mankind. All those things he only knows from pictures, only has seen in books because he could never get away, never got to see them in person.

Botticelli’s _Birth of Venus_ and _La Primavera._ Da Vinci’s _Annunciation._ The Duomo, topped with Brunelleschi’s magnificent cupola. Michelangelo’s _David._

Michelangelo’s _fucking David._

They brought him to the city with Michelangelo’s _David_ in it and they’re going to stay here for _a whole week_ so he can _finally_ walk around and look at and see and touch and smell and _be_ in a city that always seemed to call his name, yet he could never answer.

Now he’s here.

‘Stone?’ Ezekiel says carefully as he places a hand on Jake’s shoulder. It’s only then that Jake realizes he’s started shaking and that he has a death grip on Cassandra’s hand. ‘Mate, are you okay?’

Jake just nods, unable to say anything. Ezekiel shakes his head, mutters something that sounds like ‘come here’ and wraps his arms around Jake, who gladly uses this to hide his face for a moment while Cassandra strokes a soothing path up and down his back. ‘Thank you,’ Jake whispers wetly into Ezekiel’s jacket, ‘thank you _thank you.’_

‘Don’t thank us yet’ Cassandra says, pressing a kiss into Jake’s hair. ‘Just wait until you hear what we’ve got planned.’

‘Or until you see the hotel I’ve got for us,’ Ezekiel says before he releases Jake and picks up their abandoned bags before someone else can scamper off with them. Then he guides them across the bridge into another narrow street while Jake is still trying to remember how breathing works again.

It does not help that when Cassandra told Ezekiel ‘to book them a nice hotel downtown’, Ezekiel apparently heard ‘find the most luxurious accommodation in Italy, other than perhaps the Pope’s own palace’.

‘I take it he didn’t tell you about this either?’ Jake asks and Cassandra shakes her head, eyes still bulging at what might very well be the most expensive place Jake’s ever set foot in.

‘No,’ she whispers, ‘he said he wanted to surprise both of us.’

‘Well, that he certainly did,’ Jake mutters as they follow the manager, who looks like the epitome of Italian elegance, to a massive marble staircase and up to their room. ‘How in hell would he even pay for this?’

As he says it, Cassandra grows a little pale and hisses: ‘ _Ezekiel!’_

Ezekiel turns around and the sudden angelic expression on his face tells Jake everything he did not want to know. ‘ _Jones!’_

‘What?’ Ezekiel asks, all offended innocence. ‘Just in case you are wondering, yes, I did pay for this. I do pay for stuff, you know.’

Jake decides that that is probably true, and that he should probably not ask where the money Ezekiel uses ‘to pay for stuff’ comes from.

Then they get to the room.

Cassandra’s mouth falls open and Jake softly starts swearing under his breath. The hotel manager hands Ezekiel three key cards, says something in rapid fire Italian that Jake doesn’t catch, bows (actually fucking _bows_ ) and disappears, leaving them to stare in amazement at the king-size four-poster bed with actual drapes around it, the high vaulted ceiling with (as far as Jake can see) original frescoes, a bathroom that is a dream in chrome and marble and furniture that was already ancient before IKEA was even a glimmer in Ingvar Kamprad’s eye.

‘You like it?’ Ezekiel asks, looking a bit nervous for the first time because Jake and Cassandra are just standing there, in the middle of the room, gaping at him and not saying anything.

‘Do I...’ Jake starts, then shakes his head, takes two massive strides towards Ezekiel and shoves him back against the bed, kissing him for all he’s worth because _this guy._ Ezekiel lets out an ‘oomph’ as Jake knocks the wind out of him, but then he kisses Jake back with an enthusiasm that sets a fire burning low inside Jake’s gut. It’s not just Ezekiel who is responsible for all this, though, so Jake breaks off the kiss when oxygen eventually becomes an issue and turns around to Cassandra, who is watching them with a heat in those big blue eyes that sets the fire inside Jake even higher. One step and he is standing in front of her, catching her at the hips and hoisting her up so she can wrap herself around him as he kisses her hard because _this girl._

‘I don’t mean to be a killjoy,’ Jake hears Ezekiel say as he moves away from Cassandra’s mouth and starts sucking kisses into her neck, making her gasp and giggle at the same time, ‘but Cass, you know we’ve got plans.’

‘I’m startin’ to make some plans too,’ Jake murmurs into Cassandra’s ear, softly biting her earlobe and enjoying the shiver that runs through her.

‘Zeke’s right, though,’ she says, wriggling herself free so Jake has to put her down. ‘We should probably get going.’

And off they go, first to the Ponte Vecchio with all its jewelry shops, where Jake and Cassandra first make Ezekiel promise to keep his hands where they can see them before they set foot on the bridge. Then to the Palazzo Vecchio, where Jake tells them about the history of the de’Medici family, which even Ezekiel seems to find interesting (‘Yeah, because scheming bastards are always fun’).

They take a break at the Loggia dei Lanzei where Ezekiel and Cassandra sit on one of the stair benches, sharing a panini and a bottle of wine while Jake wanders around and marvels at the statues (‘Just look at Perseus, man, look at his face!’ ‘Wait, Perseus… Like Percy Jackson?’ ‘Like who now?’).

After this, they head over to the Piazza del Duomo, where they all fall silent at the sight of the magnificent cathedral clad in green, white and pink marble, the immense dome shining with a burnt copper glow in the late afternoon sunlight. They walk around while Jake tells them in a hushed voice about the mad genius of Brunelleschi, who took on the biggest architectural challenge of his age in trying to finish the dome and succeeded in spite of technological disadvantages, bad weather and seriously doubting critics.

By then, it’s too late to enter the cathedral itself or to climb the dome, but Cassandra promises they’ll do that later this week. She and Ezekiel have a whole itinerary planned (subject to Jake’s approval, of course. They’re not idiots). There’s just one thing he does not have a say in, and that is the final surprise they lay before him as they are having dinner at a trattoria that’s so tiny it’s barely more than a hole in the wall.

‘Stone,’ Ezekiel says with a grin that makes Jake sit up straight in expectation, ‘did you remember to bring Dr. Oliver Thompson’s ID with you?’

‘Yeah,’ Jake says. ‘why?’

‘Well, you know today is Sunday, and that the Uffizi and the Accademia are closed on Mondays?’

Jake’s heart starts beating faster. ‘Yeah.’

Now Cassandra is grinning at him as well. ‘Well, it turns out that Dr. Oliver Thompson’s name opens a lot of museum doors.’

Now Jake’s heart stops beating entirely for a second. ‘No.’

‘Yes,’ Ezekiel says, grinning so wide at Jake’s stunned face that it’s a small miracle the top of his head doesn’t fall off. ‘Tomorrow, we’re going to look at all the Renaissance art you could ever want to see.’

‘All day long,’ Cassandra adds in a seductive whisper that is only slightly belied by the laughter dancing in her eyes.

‘And we’ll have the place entirely to ourselves, so there won’t be any pesky tour groups blocking the view,’ Ezekiel murmurs into Jake’s ear before he presses a soft kiss to his cheek. ‘What do you say, cowboy?’

In that moment, Jake completely and utterly forgives Ezekiel and Cassandra for celebrating Christmas without him, keeping him in the dark for almost a month and for any other sins they might commit in the near future. (And later that night, he shows them _exactly_ how grateful he is. It’s a good thing the huge four-poster bed is as sturdy as it looks).


End file.
